Apparatus for producing plasterboards having printed edge indicia



Dec. 28, 1954 c. A. CARLSON 2,697,982

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PLASTERBOARDS HAVING PRINTED EDGE INDICIA Filed March 11, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 C. APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PLASTERBOARDS Dec. 28, 1954 A. CARLSON HAVING PRINTED EDGE INDICIA 'iled March 11. 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 T; 7127 :2 1 f3 19 1243 n IN V N TOR.

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C. A. CARLSON APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PLASTERBOARDS Dec. 28, 1954 HAVING PRINTED EDGE INDICIA 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 11, 1949 INVENTOR. (/a/aww'e (24% United States Patent APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PLASTERBOARDS HAVING PRINTED EDGE INDICIA Clarence A. Carlson, Chicago, 111., assignor to United States Gypsum Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application March 11, 1949, Serial No. 81,006

9 Claims. (Cl. 101-227) The present invention relates to improvements in that type of printing machine in which a continuous web of material is printed upon while very rapidly traversing the printing press, and to plasterboard made from the web so printed.

The present invention is particularly concerned with a very special problem which is encountered in the manufacture of paper covered gypsum core plasterboard, and finds its chief application in that particular field.

In making such board, a continuous web of suitable heavy paper, which is practically thin cardboard, is unwound from a roll and is fed into a plasterboard machine in which a liquid slurry of calcined gypsum and water is placed upon the constantly moving web of paper.

This web is wider than the deposited mass of gypsum slurry, so that the paper can be folded upwardly and then across the mass of gypsum core material so as to form an edge therefor.

At the same time, also unwound from a continuous roll, is another sheet which is applied to what at that time is the top of the moving mass of calcined gypsum slurry so as to completely seal this core material between the two sheets of paper. The edges of the lowermost sheet are folded in such a manner that they underlie the top sheet. After the board thus formed has set, which it does after traveling about three hundred to about six hundred feet, the boards are then cut and passed through a drier. The sheet which was the bottom on the board machine is intended to be the outer or top sheet of the finished board. This is an important point to be remembered in the further discussion herein.

It has been found very desirable by the manufacturer of such plasterboards that the thin narrow edges of the board bear certain indicia which carry the trade-mark and other identifying marks whereby the product is shown to be the product of a certain manufacturer. The outside of the board, that is the one which was the bottom on the board machine, also usually carries the trademark, and other information such as patent markings and possibly even directions for use. As hitherto practiced, the indicia upon the face of the board were usually printed upon the finished boards after they had left the drier which therefore required a separate and rather cumbersome and expensive operation. The edge markings were applied by pasting suitably imprinted narrow strips of paper onto the edges of the boards.

The present invention obviates these dilficulties by imprinting the paper which eventually forms the face and edges of the board prior to the utilization of such paper in the making of the board on the board machine. It will be appreciated that, in order to have the indicia readably visible, the printing has to be done with a high degree of accuracy as otherwise, when the paper is folded over the edge and back onto the back of the board, it would not be readably visible, because part of it might be on the back of the board, or part of it on the front of the board. In other words, accurate registry is highly important.

Another consideration which forms the proper back ground for the understanding and appreciation of the novelty and utility of the present invention lies in the fact that the paper cover sheets must be printed in enormous quantities, and in order to make the operation commercially economical, it has to be accomplished at extremely high speeds, for example as high as 1700 feet per minute or higher. Moreover, these cover sheets, when being printed, are about 160 inches wide, being subse- 2,697,982 Patented Dec. 28, 1954 quently slit to the proper width to form the front and sides or edges of the plasterboard. To accomplish this printing it also must be done with inks which dry substantially instantaneously. Inks comprising oil-soluble dyes dissolved in an organic solvent, such as hydrocarbon, are suitable.

It will now be appreciated that the printing of this kind of material is surrounded by many difiiculties, which it is the main object of the present invention to overcome. Therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide a machine for extremely rapidly printing suitable indicia on wide webs of material under conditions allowing rapid drying and immediate slitting of the webs into narrower webs, followed by the continuous rewinding thereof so that the resulting imprinted rolls can be transferred to the plasterboard making machines, and used thereon.

A further object of the present invention is to provide means for assuring accurate synchronization of the translational speed of the paper with the peripheral speed of a rotary printing cylinder so that the printed indicia w1ll appear clear and sharp.

A further object of the present invention is to prov1 de a machine for the simultaneous unwinding, printing, slitting, and rewinding of continuous webs of paper or the like at speeds approaching 1700 feet per minute or more.

A further object of the present invention is to provide bundles of plasterboard having clearly readable indicia on their side edges.

A further object is to provide plasterboard having readable 1ndicia both on its face as well as its edge.

Further objects of the present invention will appear from the more complete decription hereinbelow when considered in connection with the drawings filed concurrently herewith.

In the drawings:

Flg 1 1s a vertical section through the printing machine showing only such parts as are necessary for a proper understanding of its principles, all commonly used parts such as supports, gear-teeth, etc., being omitted for sake of 1 clarlzty 1 1g. 1s a p an view of a part of the rinted she the COIldltlOIl at which they arrive at th? slitting m e hifi msrn which latter is diagrammatically illustrated;

Fig. -3 1s a perspective side view of a bundle of plasterchoards made in accordance with the present invention an e151,? 4 1s a diagrtammaticalfdrawing showing, in side a 1011, a comp e e system or roducin boards of the present invention. p g the Plasmr The printing machine, broadly considered, comprises means for support ng a roll of the paper to be printed rotary printing cyllnders, together with suitable ink foun tams, slitting means, and a rewinding mechanism or take-up roll, which also serves as a means for pulling the paper through the machine. The machine is also prov1lded with actuating rolls which are driven by fricgrgginceontact with the web of paper that traverses the The machine is moreover also rovided wi dr1v1n g means which serve to fe d the paper ihff il gh thg $2e1ClifiIa1etO tasi tohtnrtihfie its operation, but which means clvae w en e machin 3122311. e is actually in full opus the machine consists of a suitable fr which supports various operating parts, this i r mz i drli being supported upon a base 5. At the upper part of the frame work 4 there ate three rolls 6, 7 and 8, through WhlCh the web of paper 9, which is being unrolled from the supply roll 10, passes to form what may properly be termed an S-roll system, the paper passing first over half of roll 7 and then over half of roll 8, and thence travelmg m a downward direction so as to pass between the first set of type rolls 11, and the opposed platen roll 12.

There 1s also provided a second set of type rolls 13 and platen rolls 14, the purpose being that two different colors can be lmprmted upon the paper, for instance blue or black, for the indicia on the face, and for example red or green for the indicia th t edge of the board. a are to appear on the The type consists of a rubbery material, and the constructlon 18 such that the type. merely touches the. paper YVlthOIlt exertmg any substantial pressure thereon, the ink, which is applied as a very fluid material, being transferred to the paper into which it sinks and thus dries almost instantly. This drying; is accelerated by the factthat the paper is still warm, having been wound up into the roll directly from the calender stack of the paper machlne, on which it had been subjected to a temperature of about 290 F. The paper at the point of contact with the type is .at least about 150 F. to 1,60 F.

After having passed between the two sets of printing rolls 11 and 12, and 1 3 and 14, the paper, after passing idle roll 15, which is seen near the bottom of the center of Fig, l, thence passesv over roll 16,. and. encounters rotary sli'tter 17.

The paper is thenrewound on: the take-01f mechanism broadly designated as 19. This consists; of a mandrel 20. the ends of which are vertically movable. on supports 21, the paper 9 being wound about the. mandrel by means of the positively driven rolls 22 and. 23,.which are driven by suitable means not further illustrated, but indicated by thebelt 24, although they can be directly motor driven.

The means for driving the printing. machine are primarily the rolls 7 and 8, which are in the S .-section, and which are geared to the printing. and platen rolls by a train of gears which may comprise the gears 25 and 26 which. drive suitable gears that, are attached to the platen rolls 12,.printing (type) rolls, etc.

Motion is also transmitted through av drivable gear 27 which transmits the motion to suitable gears attached to the. other gears that form the'gear-train. The platen rollsll2' and 14. are also gearedfto the type. rollslland 13 which latter two carry suitable resilient-type or cuts, ink being applied to, the typerolls 11: and 13 throughthe. fountains 28 and 29 which are of the usual construction, each consisting of two rolls 30, 31, and 30', 31. These rolls may beadjusted relative toeachother and to. the type rolls 1'1 and 13. by meansof a; number of control wheels, allof which bear the reference numeral 33, because. they all have the same function.

In order; to start up the. machine when first feeding the W619; therethrough, a. motor 3.4.is; provided whichdrives achairr belt 35, which. engages suitable sprockets. 36. on themotor shaft and sprockets37 onthe geared roll27.

After the paper has been applied to the windmp o1: take-up mechanism 19,. and a. few turns have. been taken around the mandrel 24),.the driving means for driving the rewind mechanism arebrought into operation,.whereafter. the motor 34 is shut off and the motion. of the. web. is effected-entirely. by the; rewind mechanismasit. gradually rewinds the now imprinted paper, eventually forming a. roll of the same. size as original. roll 10 and indicated as. 1.0. and. shown. in dotted outline.v at the left side of Fig. 1.

By reason of, the. fact that; the. paper, in passing over theS-sectiomthat is to say, rolls.7.and.8,impartsmotion thereto, which. of course is. peripherally the same as. the translational speed. ofthe. paper, it. will. follow that, asthe. entire. gear-train. is brought; into. operation, the. speed of the printing and platen rolls. will peripherally correspond. exactly with.the; translational. speed of thepaper, and therefore even though thespeed. of thepaper shouldbe subject to variation during the operation, the. correspondence: of the. peripheral. and. translational; speeds. at the point of printing will. always be identical, andtherefore the printing will always be sharp. and clear because. there. will be. no; slippage. of the. paper. relative to. thetype or cuts on the type cylinders 11 and 13.

A. separate roll of paper is shown as being wound upon a roll 38.at the lower right hand corner of Fig. l, where theweb 9 is shown coming from-some other source, which in'this case may be the paper machine upon which the paper is made.

As shown in dotted lines, the paper 9 may be unrolled from the roll 38while anew roll.10 isbeing formed by beingwound up from the paper machine, thus allow ng rapid and almost continuous operation, the feed bemg taken from alternate rolls of the paper.

Referring now specifically to Fig. 2, this shows. the webof paper at the point where it meets the slitters 1 8, at which time the paper will bear certain indicia40 1ntermediate the slitters and which is intended to. appear on the front surface of the finished plasterboard;

The paper 9 will also carry a plurality of closely adjacent lines of indicia 41 which are those which are mindicated irrFig. 3', which represents a finished bundle of plasterboards, by the reference numeral 42, but the exact nature of this is a matter of indifference, the main point. being. that the board carries readable indicia visible on the sides of the board,whi'ch is particularly important when the boards are stacked up into bundles, as is customary in the, plasterboard art. It has become customary to provide bundles about 6 boards high, the boards being kept together by suitable. clips 43. which engage the top and bottom boards at each end of the bundle, leaving the sides opento. View. It is at these sides where the presence of the visible indicia is of course valuable because it. serves. as an identification of the goods of the manufacturer.

The'method by which the boards are made is illustrated by Fig. 4, which. shows a combination of the paper-machine, printing machine, and the plasterboard-making machine. Thus thepaper 9 which is being wound-up onto rolls 10 or 38 is seen as coming (from the right) from the calender stack 44. of. a paper machine, which is not further shown,. but. which. may consist of the well known type of multicylihder machine such as is commonly usedin making, say, a. nine-ply cardboard web. After traversing the. S-se'ction (rolls 7' and 8) and type and platen rolls, (-11 12Yand 13- 14) of. the printing machine, and having been properly slit into narrower widths of the required. size by sl'itters.1'7',.t'ne paper forms the now printed roll 10". This roll' 10" becomes the source of supply for the. bottom sheet45 that is applied to the bed 4610f the plasterboard making. machine broadly designated by the reference character 47. Asuitable amount of a calcined gypsum slurry 48 is applied tothe paper 45 from a feeding.device. 49, and thereafter the upper sheet 50' is applied, this being: derived from a roll 51 of paper. The plasterboard machineis. shownlinthe merest' outline, as its detailed-construction. is well known in the art, the essential feature of the present. invention, so far'as the plasterboard is concerned, being in the pre-printing ofthe sheet that is to. form. the front and sides. (edges) of the final plasterboard, the printing being so definitely placed that it will appear readably on the. narrow edges of the plasterboards, so astobe readable even whenthey are made up intoa six-high bundle 'asillustrated' in Fig. 3. The method of folding over the. edges of'bottorn sheet 45 is exactly the same as in. any standard plasterboard machine, and hence isnot illustrated.v (See for'instance Utzman Patent 1,330,413,)

Having: thefpaper printed substantially immediately after it has been madeservesv several useful. purposes; Mainly, the temperature atfwlii'ch. it arrives atthe printing. machine, which allows. ofTul'tra rapid drying. of the ink, and secondarily, the; factthati'tJwill? not have had time to-expand. or undergoJdimejnsional. changes, which might-interfere with the. accurate registete'ssential to the formation. of. a. properly printed." edge in. the finished plasterboard.

Only sufficient parts: have. been. shown; in. the figures to. make. an understanding, of they principles. of the in: vention; possible, various details, having. been deliberately omitted as? all. these are: well: within: the Islill of; the machinists art; and. it will. be. easy 1 to; construct. the ma; chine based upon the; principles hereindisclosed.

The: exactlocationand orientation of. the. various parts. is of course. subject: to; considerable variation and the. printingmachine could just. as well. be: constructed so; that the-various partszthereofi wouldabeat a.9.0 angle to. that. shown by the figure, but snfiice: it: to .say that: a.sys-; tem incorporating the present invention has been con-- structed and isin successful use;. and-.therefore; the invention isprimarily illustrated byfa. printing. machine: which resembles the actual machine: as. much; as is pos.-- sible and-without: more detail-than. is. necessary for its. proper understanding.

'Accordingly, applicant claims:

1. A printing press for continuously. printing indicia: upon a='tautm'oving w' b, comprising. rotatably' mounted: cooperatihg'type and platen rolls between. which said:

moving web passes, drive rolls drivingly connected to said type and platen rolls and over which said moving web passes with suificient frictional contact to activate said drive rolls, and means for positively pulling the moving web over the drive rolls and between said type and platen rolls so as to actuate the said drive rolls; said type and platen rolls being actuated only by the frictiolilial contact between said moving web and said drive ro s.

2. A printing press for continuously printing indicia upon a moving web, comprising cooperating type and platen rolls arranged in opposed relation and between which said moving web passes, a gear-train interconnecting said type and platen rolls, drive rolls operatively connected to said gear-train and over which said moving web passes with sufficient frictional contact to serve as the sole means for driving said drive rolls, a rotatably mounted web-rewinding mandrel, and power-actuated means cooperating with said mandrel for pulling said web through the press and efiect winding of said web, subsleqirent to indicia being printed thereon, about said man- 3. A printing press for continuously printing indicia upon a taut moving web, comprising rotatably mounted cooperating type and platen rolls between which said web passes, a gear-train interconnecting said type and platen rolls and provided with drive rolls engaged by said web and solely driven by the frictional contact of said web with said drive rolls, power-actuated means for pulling said web over said drive rolls and between said type and platen rolls, whereby the translational speed of the web and the peripheral speed of said type and platen rolls are substantially the same.

4. A machine for producing printed paper cover sheets for gypsum'core plasterboard comprising means for unwindably supporting a relatively wide roll of suitable cover-sheet paper, peripherally touching drive rolls over and between which the unrolled paper frictionally passes thereby causing them to rotate and acting as the sole source of power to do so, a set of cooperating rotatably mounted type and platen rolls between which said unrolled paper passes, a gear-train interconnecting said drive rolls and said type and platen rolls and imparting to the latter a peripheral speed substantially identical with the translational speed of the unrolled paper passing therethrough, and means for pulling the paper through the machine; said means comprising a power-actuated paper rewinding mechanism and slitting means disposed between said type and platen rolls and said rewind mechanism for slitting the relatively wide roll of paper into a plurality of relatively narrow rolls.

5. A machine for continuously printing indicia on a moving web of paper, comprising cooperating rotatably mounted type and platen rolls between which the web passes, rotatably mounted drive rolls drivingly connected to said type and platen rolls, each of said drive rolls being partially embraced and frictionally engaged by said moving web and solely actuated thereby, and power-actuated means engaging said web for positively pulling the latter past said drive rolls and between said type and platen rolls for elfecting rotation of the latter as the l'eiillt of the frictional contact of the web with said drive r0 8.

6. A printing press for continuously printing indicia upon a moving web, comprising rotatably mounted printing rolls between which said moving web passes, rotatably mounted drive rolls drivingly connected to said 6 printing rolls and frictionally engaged by and actuated solely by frictional contact with said moving web, a rotatably mounted mandrel about which said moving web is wound subsequent to printing thereof, and power-actuated web-pulling means frictionally engaging said web as the latter winds about said mandrel.

7. A printing press for continuously printing indicia upon a moving web, comprising cooperating rotatably mounted type and platen rolls between which said moving web passes, rotatably mounted drive rolls drivingly connected to said type and platen rolls and frictionally engaged by and actuated solely by frictional contact with said moving web, a rotatably mounted mandrel about which said moving web is wound subsequent to passing between said type and platen rolls, and power-actuated rotatably mounted means frictionally engaging said web as the latter winds about said mandrel and effecting positive pulling of said web through the press.

8. A printing press for continuously printing indicia upon a moving web, comprising a pair of cooperating rotatably mounted type and platen rolls between which said moving web passes, rotatably mounted drive rolls drivingly connected to said type and platen rolls and frictionally engaged and partially embraced by said moving web which thus serves as the sole source of power for said drive rolls, a rotatably mounted mandrel, adjacent said type and platen rolls, and about which said moving web is wound subsequent to printing thereof, and power-actuated means frictionally engaging the periphery of said mandrel for effecting pulling of said web through said press and actuating said drive rolls at a peripheral speed substantially the same as the translational speed of said web.

9. A printing press for continuously printing indicia upon a moving web which comprises a set of rotatably mounted cooperating type and platen rolls between which said web passes to efiect the transfer thereto of imprints from the type on the type roll, drive rolls drivingly connected with said type and platen rolls and driven solely by frictional contact of the web as it passes over and between said drive rolls, and means beyond said type and platen rolls for pulling said web through the press.

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